Your Ultimate Guide to Exeter's Salons

From the SSB to society Christmas dinners, every girl in Exeter has an event coming up before the end of term that they need to look fabulous for and those grown out highlights and split ends just won’t cut it anymore. We at Her Campus know how risky it is to trust a new salon to do something as delicate as a wax or as obvious as highlights, especially right before a big event, so we have taken the risk out of it by trying out Exeter’s best salons for you! From Exeter College’s bargain beauty to the best wax on Gandy Street, we’ve got it all covered for you. All you need to do is book in before everyone else does!

The Massage

Where: Space Hair and Beauty

Cost: £40 (Student discount offered every Tuesday & Wednesday)

Tester: Hannah Lothgren

Space Salon is beautiful and luxurious, set in a charming 15th century building off the Cathedral Green. This boutique salon is the perfect place to indulge, pamper and escape.

With a 30 minute Elemental Nature Massage I was really able to unwind and relax, despite the stress of looming deadlines and housing dramas! The massage focuses on one area of the body, perfect for us students whose neck and shoulders are undoubtedly holding considerable amounts of tension after all those hours crouching over a desk in the library.

Upon arriving at the salon I was greeted by the lovely therapist Netty. She led me to the top of the quaint building where a lovely little room smelling of essential oils and adorned with candles and Aveda products awaited me. When lying on the massage bed, listening to calming sounds, warm massage oils were poured onto my back and the heavenly massage ensued. After 30 minutes of this deep relaxation I was left feeling calm, revitalised and indulgently pampered. Having taken out some much-needed me-time I felt like I could take on student life again with a renewed purpose!

Although such treatments are not usually associated with the student lifestyle, Christmas is coming up and Her Campus believe that us girls deserve a little special treatment and indulgence this festive season. A massage is the perfect gift (boyfriends, take note) and the salon offers gift vouchers that are valid for 6 months for anyone you wish to treat. Space Salon is definitely a haven of indulgence and luxury.

On Wednesday, I popped into the hair salon at Exeter College for a very much needed haircut. I had been feeling quite bored of the way my hair was looking recently but was unsure of what look I was after. However, after a great consultation with the hairdresser I decided to opt for getting some length off and getting a daring full fringe. Although the girl that cut my hair was still a student at the salon, she proved to be very professional by asking me questions such as what look I was hoping to go for and whether my hair needed any special treatment. While the consultation was taking place, the salon supervisor kept a close eye on the process to make sure everything was running smoothly whilst singing along to Robbie Williams on the radio. After a very relaxing shampoo and conditioning, the hairdresser then went to work on my embarrassingly split ends by taking a good few inches off my hair length leaving it looking much healthier. Layers were also added to give my hair more volume and when that process was over, it was time for the fringe. Even though it’s going to take some getting used to, I’m extremely happy with my new haircut and have been getting a lot of compliments on the big change! Although the thought of getting a hair treatment at the college salon may sound a little bit daunting as the stylists are still in training, they are constantly supervised by a professional and we are sure that you will leave happy. Another huge advantage to choosing H2B for some hair pampering are the incredibly low prices! It may be a student salon but the only giveaway is the bargain price. The salon itself and the result are a good as any professional studio on the high street. Girls, as students this is an offer we simply can’t say no to!

The Highlights

Where: Jeff Goodwin

Cost: £70 (10% student discount available)

Tester: Amy Dicketts

Every girl knows it no easy task to entrust something as major as your hair colour to a stranger, but with the festive season fast approaching grown-out highlights just won’t cut it anymore. With the Her Campus Christmas dinner coming up I decided to take the plunge and try out a new salon for my highlights.

One glance of the fuchsia sofa and fairy lights in Jeff Goodwin will tell you this is no run-of- the-mil salon. My stylist, George, was not only a fabulous colourist but the frontman of a band. His relaxed but knowledgeable attitude to hair is guaranteed to put any girl at ease. George really understood that I wanted to refresh my look without it looking too obviously highlighted, and scattered lights throughout my hair to give a natural blend of colour. It was such a nice change from the usual salon attitude of piling foils into your hair and leaving you with stripy highlights! The hours flew by, as I relaxed, magazine in hand, and let George get to work. Once my highlights were washed out they added in a treatment (£12.50) which nourished my hair to leave it looking its best. Thankfully, the salon never uses bleach to lighten hair meaning you don’t have to damage your hair to be gorgeously blonde.

The final look was amazing. They have really managed to make my highlights blend with the colour that was already there and all my friends love my new look. It is lovely to know I will be going to Christmas dinner with my hair looking good, rather than having to wait until I get home to sort it out! I would definitely return to the salon even if it was just for a trim as it is such a chilled out place to pass a couple of hours pampering yourself. If you are looking for a quick cut before the SSB head to Jeff’s ‘Underground’, a section of the salon where you can have exactly what you need doing to your hair – a blow dry, a fringe trim or cutting off dead ends – without having to pay the full salon price tag. They really have thought of everything a girl could ask for, and deliver it in a fabulous package.

The Before and After:

The Wax

Where: LeFroy Beauty Salon

Cost: £11-£30 (20% student discount)

Although I have had one before, I can never relax before a Brazilian Wax. When selected to review Lefroy’s waxing services I was eager but also extremely nervous as it had been over a year since I last had a professional wax. However, after arriving at the salon on Gandy Street (it’s on the corner opposite the Phoenix down some steps) I was instantly put at ease after being introduced to my beauty therapist Becky. She even took my coat away to a cloakroom (it’s the little things that make you feel pampered!)

Then I got the full works: calming music, comfy treatment table, hot wax. I was asked exactly what result I wanted and without going into too much detail, it was really well done and not at all embarrassing, unlike some previous salon experiences. The treatment was not nearly as painful as I remembered, and the re-growth is SO much slower than shaving and you avoid horrible shaving rash. So whether it is your first time (trust me, it’s a life changing decision) or you’re searching for somewhere to maintain down-below whilst at University, you can trust LeFroy to take care of you. A quick bikini line is £11, a Brazilian starts from £20 depending on how much you dare to bare and a full Hollywood is £30.

If you are a waxing convert don’t put off booking your appointment as they are already half full for SSB. But make sure you get your wax a couple of days in advance so you don’t have that plucked chicken look on the night!

Treatment: Individual false lashes

Where: H2B

Price: £2.50 (usually £5 but there are often promotional offers)

Tester: Alice McAnulty

Let me just start by saying that although I write for Fashion & Beauty, I am by no means a connoisseur in beauty treatments! Exeter College’s H2B salon however may just change that. Upon arrival I was greeted warmly by the receptionist and led to the treatment room. A lovely student named Rachel did my eyelashes. It took less than twenty minutes but the results were great! Rachel applied individual false lashes to my outer lashes to create a gorgeous wide-eyed look. They are temporary lashes rather than extensions, which means they don’t last as long but they are much cheaper and quicker to have applied. Although it was a student salon it was so professional I would never have guessed that the staff were trainees. The final result looked very real. It really opened up my eyes without looking too Essex! Rachel recommended I come in to get my lashes tinted in the future, and at the incredible price of £7 I can’t resist! If you don’t fuss with them, the lashes can last a week or so. If you start putting on and taking off mascara they’ll last a night or two. For me this was perfect as they lasted long enough for me to show them off at a Charity Ball, where they were a great addition to my evening look.